Golf tee and method of manufacturing the same



Patented July 21, 1931 WARREN Manson, or Bouman, coronato com messen Merece or MANUFACTUMNG @es sans appnauqn ined october 17, 1928. serial No. 313,046.

This invention relates to an improved golf tee and a process for manufacturing the same.

It is fully appreciated that theart is re= plete With disclosures of fabricated golf tees and that it is not new to the art to provide socalled disintegrable golftees.77 Y

This invention, therefore, While it relates to the production and manufacture of disinVJ tegrable golf tees, is predicated upon the discoverythat it is possible to produce normally Weight-sustaining disintegrable vgolf tees from homogeneous plastic earths and clays as they occur in nature Without the employment l5 of any extraneous constituents or the employ-l ment of a binder of any character as has been heretofore suggested in the United States patents to Stockder No. 702,078 and Hodges No. 1,645,001

The advantages of disintegrable golf tees are manifold. When composed of plastic soil or clay, as contemplated by this invention, they readily become a part of the earth of the golf course, lling up depressionsV and im` proving the course.Vv They eliminate the ne;

cessity for providing sand and Water supplies at each teeing ground and completely' avoid the unsightly litter noW prevalent on golf courses as a result of the use of themany paper and composition tees atY present in vogue. f. A

It is moreover a specific object and advan tage of the present invention to provide disintegrable golf tees at an extremely low cost,

so lovv in fact that they may be supplied to players by golf courses more economically than can sand and Water supplies beman tained. Y l

Tees constructed in accordance With the present invention are composed of plastic soil or earth only and When disintegrated upon a golf course addno extraneous, objectionable substances thereto. The tees contain no viscous or sticky binder which must go into solution before disintegration is complete. While it has been suggested to incorporate fertilizer in disintegrable golf tees, this practice is particularly unsatisfactory When such mineral fertilizers as sodium nitrate and potassium salts are incorporated in the tees,

since these soluble mineral salts are thus in regularly and lunevenly supplied to the golf course in localized spots and preclude the possibility of effecting a systematic stimula= tion of the growth of the grass on the course.

While, as above set forth, golf tees may' be constructed in accordance with the present invention from various plastic soils and clays, they are preferably constructed by employr ing a plastic clay of relatively high colloidal content.- Y

Soil colloids possess many and various valuable characteristics and lend greatly to the fertility of soil. This is in a large part due to the enormous specific surface supplied to soil by the colloidal content thereof. The addition of colloidal matter to soil, therefore, effects a substantial improvement thereof. This isone advantage derived from the use of colloidal clays in manufacturing golf tees. lt has been further demonstrated that a colloidal clay lends itself admirably to the manufacture of golf tees in accordance With the presentrinvention since such a (lay responds to compression upon sudden impact 4in a. manner which yields a molded tee hav'-` ing a dense slightly Water-absorbing outer surface of fine' shell-like structure While the interior coreof the tee is relatively porous, of coaiser structure and capable of readily absorbing Water.

Golf tees constructed in accordance with this invention are characterized'in that they areqfollned solely of a homogenous `plastic earthy material in the absence of an).T en-A trane'ousblncler whatever'. Each tee has a shell-like oute` surface which is exceedingly dense, of line structure and relatively non- Water absorbing While the interior structure of the tee Which is protected and sustained in form by the shell-like surfaces, is relativelyporous and of coarse structure This core is in fact retained under some stress 'when confined by the outer dense 'surface shell. Due to this fact, the core dlslnta grates readily when the dense surface .shell is disrupted by being; struck with a gulf @las in play. The density and hardness of the shell-like surface. or the tee may render the resisting during shipment, handling and the like.

Since tees constructed in accordance with the present invention may be fired and rendered relatively waterproof, they may be employed without exterior coatings. It is, however, within the province of the invention to beautify the tees anl further improve their water-proof characteristics by a suitable coating with coloring enamel or the like.

Coming to a consideration of the method of constructing the golf tees, it has been found that in molding the tees to give them the desired dense shell-like outer surface and porous core, a more or less definitel relation should exist between the moisture content of the clay hereinafter termed water of plasticity77 and the impart pressure employed to mold the tees. It is known that the bonding power of soil or clay decreases with a decrease in the content of the water of plasticity. To effect sufficient cohesion between the particles of soil or clan'v to bind the same into a self-sustaining forni, the clay or soil must contain aeequate water of plasticity to effect a binding of the particles when compressed. For example, it has been found that when tie water of plasticity content of the clay or soil is reduced to 5%, a pressure of 1.000 pounds per square inch is required to effect bonding and that suoli pressure is unnecessary for the satisfactory formation of golf tees. Satisfactory results are obtained by employing a soil or clay having a water of plasticity content ranging from around 2O to 28% and molding` the tees by subjecting the soil or clay to pressure through the medium of a sharp impact rather than to slow compression. For a clay having a water of plasticity content of from 20 to 25% it has been found that satisfactory results are obtained by effecting the molding of the tees through the medium of an impact havingran energy equivalent ranging between t1/; foot pounds and 19252 foot ounds.

The molded tees are preferably air or heat dried at temperatures between the range of Q00 C. and 4000 C., for the reason that the carbonaf-eous and colloidal content of soils is permanently destroyed when subjected to eX- tremely high temperatures of th-e order of say 750O C. It will be appreciated that should it not be desired to retain certain beneficial soil characteristics in the golf tees, they may be dried by ring at higher tem peratures. Tees fired at a temperature of around 500 C. possess greater strength than air dried tees. In fact they have a modulus of rupture many times greater than that of air dried tees. Itis, therefore, apparent that air dried tees are more readily disintegrated than fired tees.

To illustrate the general characteristics of the invention, drawings disclosing a conventional golf tee accompanies this specification and forms a part thereof, in which Figure l is a perspective view of a conventional golf tee;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Figure l;

Fig. 3 shows the tee provided with a suitable coating material.

In the drawings the tee is indicated generally at A, the hard dense outer structure is indicated at l, while the relatively porous core is indicated at 2. In Figure 3 there is shown a coating` 4 of suit-able coloring enamel for decorating the tee and increasing its water-resisting properties.

It is to be understood that the form of the tee is immaterial and constitutes no part of this invention. Golf tees embodying the characteristic features of the invention may be constructed in any desired form or shape.

Due to the fact that in the manufacture of tees in accordance with the invention no binder or other foreign matter is employed and that only clays and soils are utilized as they occur in nature, regulating only their content of water of plasticity, golf tees can be produced at a fraction of their prior cost and can be supplied by golf courses to players at less cost than now incurred by the maintenance of the conventional sand boxes at each teeing ground.

While I have described my invention as relating to the formation of golf tees solely from a homogeneous plastic earthy material it will be understoodv that the invention in its broader aspect includes within its scope the inclusion of some extraneous material for purposes other than performing the function of a binder so long as the inclusion of such extraneous material does not deleteriously affeet the maintenance of the form of the tee or its disintegration.

The foregoing description is to be construed only as illustrative of the invention and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A preformed transportable golf tee disintegrable by impact of a golf club in play formed from a homogeneous, relatively insoluble non-viscous plastic earth containing.:` no extraneous binder'and having a dense relatively non-water absorbing surface.

WARREN H. MCLFOD, 

